IF the popular tale in music lore is accurate, Horace Andy should never have made it as a singer. The panel of ‘judges’ were not impressed by his nasal sound when he went to audition for producer Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd in the early 1970s.

Dodd, however, heard a singer with different sound and recorded the young vocalist, helping to break one of reggae’s most talented, yet underrated singer/songwriters.

One of Andy’s (real name Horace Hines) first hit songs for Dodd was Skylarking, a powerful statement decrying the level of loafing in Jamaica at the time.

The album of the same title, which includes songs like See a Man’s Face, Just Say Who and Love Of a Woman, is among reggae’s finest.

In true journeyman fashion, Horace Andy recorded for numerous producers. He had hits for (Zion Gate) Bunny Lee, Girl I Love You (Channel One) and Natty Dread A Wey She Want (Tappa Zukie).

By the 1980s, Horace Andy’s grass roots popularity had waned but the resurgent oldies scene in Jamaica earned him a comeback in the early part of the next decade.

In the late 1990s, Horace Andy was discovered by the British band, Massive Attack, who cited him as a major influence.

Horace Andy toured the world with Massive Attack, playing to fans who were not even born when he cut Skylarking. That renaissance is intact, as Horace Andy remains a solid touring and recording act in Europe.